A surprise plot twist is one thing, but jerking the audience around like one of Jack's interrogation subjects is something else.

On the other hand, maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just punch-drunk with false endings.

My inability to accept this particular cliche — as well as those that have characters who are not what they seem or dead characters rising up again — date back to when I was the Deseret News movie critic in the 1980s.

During that decade, a few too many filmmakers had watched "Psycho" and "Charade," and every other big-screen thriller had some sort of twist ending ("Final Analysis," "No Way Out," "Masquerade"), sometimes with two or three reversals in the final 15 minutes!

And we can thank "Halloween" (1978) for the killer-who-would-not-die motif — you know, that moment toward the end of the movie when the murderer is finally put down and stays down for awhile, only to unexpectedly rise again for one more battle.

The effect of these devices on audience expectations was not good.

The killer-who-would-not-die became such a movie staple that after awhile it was no longer unexpected, and it eventually bled into big-budget, A-list pictures. ("What Lies Beneath" anyone?)

Same with double- and triple-cross endings, as heroes are revealed at the last minute to be villains. ("What Lies Beneath," anyone?)

It wasn't long before audiences were disappointed when such overworked plot devices didn't happen. Pity the poor filmmaker who tried to play it straight.

So maybe "24" is just trying to play to audience expectations of the unexpected. So to speak.

Of course, this season of "24" has also been hampered by a distinct lack of Chloe, the funny, sardonic techie who has been largely absent until the past couple of weeks. (Mary Lynn Rajskub became pregnant and had a baby during the shoot.)

Despite all these complaints, however, I'll continue to watch. Even after yet another false ending last Monday.

Oh, and here's one last spoiler. Despite the fact that Jack has been "dying" for the past several weeks, he'll be back next year. How do I know that without having seen next Monday's finale?

Easy. Sutherland has signed on for Season 8.

E-MAIL: hicks@desnews.com